In the personal computer (PC) world, oftentimes a user desires an ability to select a particular operating system (OS) at startup or boot. This multi-OS feature can be desired as a function of specific applications or merely user preference. In other words, there are often situations where a particular OS is required to run a particular computer application. As well, because users become so adept at using a particular OS, there is often a strong preference to the features, functions and benefits of a particular OS.
Today, a PC can be configured to prompt a user upon startup with regard to a particular or preferred OS. The selection can range from different versions of the same OS to different OSs completely, for example, OSs from different manufacturers. Oftentimes, multiple users of a particular PC will have different preferences with respect to OS features. These multi-boot options enable users to personalize their computing session by enabling selection of a particular OS.
An OS is often a monolithic application that requires a vast amount of memory and processing power. While many PCs and notebook computers are capable of the necessary memory and processing power to employ the ever-growing functionality of OSs, many mobile devices are not capable of processing today's OSs. With the ever-increasing popularity of personal mobile devices, e.g., cell phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal music players, laptops, etc., ‘mobility’ has been the focus of many consumer products as well as services of wireless providers. For example, in the telecommunications industry, ‘mobility’ is at the forefront as consumers are no longer restricted by location with regard to communications and computing needs.
As mobile device popularity increases, the ability to make telephone calls, access electronic mail, communicate via instant message (IM), compute using standard office-type applications and access online services from any location has also continued to evolve. Together with this increase in functionality comes the need for larger more comprehensive OSs to handle the increased functionality. Unfortunately, these mobile devices are not always capable of today's OS requirements. More particularly, it is not uncommon for a consumer to become frustrated with the wait-time of booting a smartphone today.